A Small Boat On A Big Adventure...
Sep. 21st, 2015 09:11 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
khiemtranThis Sunday, my friend James and I took Shearwater out for a sailing adventure as we took part in the Cock of the Harbour, the longest dinghy race of the year.
As with last year, the Cock of the Harbour coincided with Bart's Bash, a global charity sailing race in support of the Andrew Simpson Sailing Foundation. So, technically speaking, we were also part of the largest sailing race in the world. Here we are heading out ready for the start...
All sorts of dinghies were gathered in the starting area, from the super fast foiling Moths...
To kids in Optimists...
The race begins with a rare downwind start. Downwind starts are interesting because it's very hard to stop when you're pointing downwind. That means if you start your run too early, you may find yourself crossing the line too soon and being forced to circle back.
As luck would have it, Shearwater's extreme slow speed proves to be an advantage when it comes to judging the starting line and we make an excellent start in the middle of the pack, ahead of a lot of faster boats. Unfortunately, from then on, our extreme slow speed begins to count against us...
There was only one other Mirror in the fleet, and since they had a spinnaker and we didn't, the downwind leg was never going to be kind to us.
There they are in distance, as the rain sets in, while we plod down the harbour. Surprisingly though, as we find some wind and ride the following sea, we aren't nearly as far behind as I thought we'd be.
By the time we're halfway down to the bottom mark, we've already met boats on their way back. Here you can see a Tasar on the left, and a Moth, up on its foils, on the right. I'm not sure what course the Moths sailed, but we didn't even see them going past us the first time.
As we near the Opera House and the Harbour Bridge, things get a little interesting as the big ferries go past. Ferries have right of way on these waters, but it's hard to get out of the way when you can only manage three knots on a light wind day like this.
The bottom mark is Fort Denison, an iconic stone fortification right out in front of the Opera House. As a fort, it wasn't very effective. Apparently, there wasn't enough room inside the tower to allow very large cannons and the small gun holes gave a very limited field of fire. In the distance, you can see the other Mirror, SpeedyBee, heading back upwind. Amazingly, we're only about 500 metres behind them, which is pretty good considering they have a spinnaker and probably displace a good fifty kilos less than us. I suspect the waves must have been very kind to us on the way down, matching our speed much closer than theirs.
Meanwhile, on the other side, another iconic view...
Sydney harbour sailing in a nutshell: iconic architecture, beautiful water, and imminent, on-rushing death...
We've rounded the fort now, and now it's time for the upwind leg. In distance, you can see SpeedyBee has already left us far behind.
Unfortunately, the wind dies just as we get around the fort and we are left plodding helplessly back up towards Rose Bay...
The race forgotten, it's time to chill for a bit and do some sightseeing. This is one of the big mooring buoys in the middle of the harbour.
And here's the Southern Star, apparently doing some training, or maybe on a private charter.
Here she cuts a very fine figure, even if she's moving suspiciously fast in such light winds with most of her canvas furled...
This jet boat on the other hand, seems to have no trouble generating all the wind it needs...
A final glimpse back at the bridge as we make it back to Rose Bay. A great end to an epic day...
As with last year, the Cock of the Harbour coincided with Bart's Bash, a global charity sailing race in support of the Andrew Simpson Sailing Foundation. So, technically speaking, we were also part of the largest sailing race in the world. Here we are heading out ready for the start...
All sorts of dinghies were gathered in the starting area, from the super fast foiling Moths...
To kids in Optimists...
The race begins with a rare downwind start. Downwind starts are interesting because it's very hard to stop when you're pointing downwind. That means if you start your run too early, you may find yourself crossing the line too soon and being forced to circle back.
As luck would have it, Shearwater's extreme slow speed proves to be an advantage when it comes to judging the starting line and we make an excellent start in the middle of the pack, ahead of a lot of faster boats. Unfortunately, from then on, our extreme slow speed begins to count against us...
There was only one other Mirror in the fleet, and since they had a spinnaker and we didn't, the downwind leg was never going to be kind to us.
There they are in distance, as the rain sets in, while we plod down the harbour. Surprisingly though, as we find some wind and ride the following sea, we aren't nearly as far behind as I thought we'd be.
By the time we're halfway down to the bottom mark, we've already met boats on their way back. Here you can see a Tasar on the left, and a Moth, up on its foils, on the right. I'm not sure what course the Moths sailed, but we didn't even see them going past us the first time.
As we near the Opera House and the Harbour Bridge, things get a little interesting as the big ferries go past. Ferries have right of way on these waters, but it's hard to get out of the way when you can only manage three knots on a light wind day like this.
The bottom mark is Fort Denison, an iconic stone fortification right out in front of the Opera House. As a fort, it wasn't very effective. Apparently, there wasn't enough room inside the tower to allow very large cannons and the small gun holes gave a very limited field of fire. In the distance, you can see the other Mirror, SpeedyBee, heading back upwind. Amazingly, we're only about 500 metres behind them, which is pretty good considering they have a spinnaker and probably displace a good fifty kilos less than us. I suspect the waves must have been very kind to us on the way down, matching our speed much closer than theirs.
Meanwhile, on the other side, another iconic view...
Sydney harbour sailing in a nutshell: iconic architecture, beautiful water, and imminent, on-rushing death...
We've rounded the fort now, and now it's time for the upwind leg. In distance, you can see SpeedyBee has already left us far behind.
Unfortunately, the wind dies just as we get around the fort and we are left plodding helplessly back up towards Rose Bay...
The race forgotten, it's time to chill for a bit and do some sightseeing. This is one of the big mooring buoys in the middle of the harbour.
And here's the Southern Star, apparently doing some training, or maybe on a private charter.
Here she cuts a very fine figure, even if she's moving suspiciously fast in such light winds with most of her canvas furled...
This jet boat on the other hand, seems to have no trouble generating all the wind it needs...
A final glimpse back at the bridge as we make it back to Rose Bay. A great end to an epic day...
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no subject
Date: 2015-09-21 04:07 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2015-09-21 07:51 pm (UTC)That said, it's probably definitely time to upgrade. It's becoming clear that we're going to need a bit more speed if I want to get to some of the more interesting places around the harbour.
no subject
Date: 2015-09-23 11:53 am (UTC)So your little Mirror and those Moths are technically dinghies? I'm sure you've said this before, more than once, but somehow it didn't register. The Moth on its foils looks very cool.
Fort Denison sounds like it was designed by someone who had the *concept* of a fort but hadn't ever actually tried to defend anything from one.
A good adventure--pretty neat that you were sailing so well, relative to the other Mirror, even lacking the extra sail and being heavier. And after the wind died, you turned adversity into some excellent photos. Thanks for that!
no subject
Date: 2015-09-23 07:27 pm (UTC)